Revolt in Paraguay 1989

[ 1989 ]

The harsh regime of General Alfredo Stroessner (1912-), who had ruled Paraguay since 1954 and been criticized for violations of human rights, was toppled in a revolt led by General Andres Rodriguez (1923-), Stroessner's second-in-command, on February 3, 1989. Military forces loyal to Rodriguez violently seized control of the government in Asuncion, the capital, where an estimated 300 people, both civilian and military, were killed. Stroessner was placed under house arrest and allowed to go into exile abroad; Rodriguez, an alleged cocaine trafficker, became president, vowing to restore democracy and respect human rights. In 1993, he was succeeded by Juan Carlos Wasmsoy (1939-), Paraguay's first ever democratically elected civilian president, who faced a struggle to control the military and its authoritarian influence.